Forever and Always
by WaterNymphana
Summary: One-Shot: Leah suspects that her brother might be a vampire. When she finds out that he is indeed a vampire, she flees to her cousin Bella. Danger, excitement, and maybe a little romance with a certain Jacob Black?


Leah – Forever and Always

With a great crash, the plate glass window shattered, spraying shards of razor-edged glass flying in all directions. A girl of seventeen fell amidst the pieces with her arms over her head, attempting to protect her face. The young woman hit the ground with a sickening thud and was knocked unconscious.

That was me. Let me back up and fill you in on everything. My name is Leah. I'm seventeen. I came to the little town of Forks, Washington to visit my cousin Bella Cullen.

Oh, a little note about Bella? She's a vampire. So is her husband, Edward, and the rest of her in-laws.

Why am I staying in a house full of vampires?

Relax, sit back, and I'll tell you the whole story.

I came often in my younger years to Forks to visit my only girl cousin, Bella. We were close friends. For a while, I didn't spend much time with Bella because she moved around a lot with her mom and stepfather.

Last summer, the year after Bella moved back into Forks, I came to her house for the summer. My mother had just remarried. Dad had died two years previously. Chris, my new stepfather, and my mom had just gotten married three months earlier. My stepbrother, Ross, and I absolutely did _**not **_get along. At seventeen, he was one year older than me. Almost as soon as we had met, Ross and I were at each others' throats.

Consequently, that summer my mom had arranged for me to stay with Bella so that Ross and I had a little distance from each other.

I had gone joyfully, and spent many happy weeks there.

One particular afternoon, Bella had to go to work. Uncle Charlie, Mom's brother and Bella's father, had gone to work also. I was left alone in a very quiet and boring house.

The weather had been unusually sunny and balmy, so I decided to take a walk.

While I was out, dark clouds rolled in. Fat raindrops began to splatter on my head. I berated myself for not carrying an umbrella. The weather was most often gloomy in Forks. I should have known it wouldn't stay nice forever.

Soon, the water had turned the ground to mud, and the rain was so heavy I could hardly see.

As I slipped and slid alongside the road, a beat-up, but classically stylish car pulled up next to me.

The window rolled down to reveal a handsome young man. I could tell he was one of the Quileute tribe that lived near Forks. His skin was a dusky tan and he had short, dark hair.

He grinned, showing pearly white teeth, and said: "Can I give you a ride?"

Normally, I do not go around accepting rides from any stranger that happens to offer, no matter how cute they are. I opened my mouth to thank him and decline, but he interrupted.

"My name is Jacob Black."

I smiled, then I opened the car door and plopped myself in the passenger seat.

"Nice to meet you at last. I've heard a lot about you."

He raised his eyebrows at that, but I explained.

"I'm Leah, Bella's cousin."

He grinned wider. "Oh yeah!" Glad to finally meet you. Bella's told me a lot about you. I can't believe we haven't met before this."

Jake drove me back to Bella's house.

I invited him to come in for hot chocolate and he accepted.

He kept me company for the rest of the afternoon by entertaining me with stories from his Quileute tribe. The stories he told me told of the Cold Ones that drank human blood and the wolves that were the Quileute's ancestors.

Eventually, he had had to go, but I saw him a couple more times throughout the summer before I had to go home.

The next spring was when the real trouble started.

My family and I were invited to Bella's wedding. We traveled up to Washington for the ceremony.

I met Edward Cullen, Bella's fiancé and her new in-laws. I became unconsciously suspicious of the Cullens when I saw how pale and cold they were. I hadn't come to any conclusions then, but I did soon.

A few months after we returned home, Ross turned really strange. For three days, he locked himself in his room and didn't come out.

When he had, I was startled to see his eyes had turned bright red. He would go out at night and not reappear until the next morning.

One evening, our parents were out on a date. I was home alone, since Ross had disappeared as he often did. I jumped as the front door slammed violently open.

Ross slunk through the door, calling my name.

I didn't answer, however, because he looked way worse than he normally did. He was dirty. His eyes blazed brighter than usual, and he was grinning in an insane, blood-thirsty way that creeped me out. The scariest thing was the dried blood around his mouth.

"Where are you?" he called menacingly. "I'm hungry for a little snack. Where are you, dear sister of mine?"

I knew then that all the stories that Jacob had told me were true. The Cold Ones, or vampires as they are more commonly called, were all very, very real. And my stepbrother was one.

I slipped out the garage door to my car and drove away from my house as fast as I dared. Suddenly, I remembered the Cullens. I recalled their white and ice cold skin, how gorgeously beautiful they all were, and how I had not seen any of them eat at the reception. I'm not sure how I knew, but I did. The Cullens were vampires too.

I spotted Ross in my rearview mirror. He was following me. _Oh no! _ I sped up, but he easily stayed with me.

I pulled out my cell phone and drove straight for the airport. I dialed, then waited anxiously for Bella to pick up.

"Hello?" her voice answered.

"Bella? Thank goodness!" I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Leah? Is that you? What's wrong?"

"Bella. I know everything." I was getting slightly hysterical now. "I know everything. About vampires. Edward is one, isn't he? The whole family is. Oh, Bella, you've got to help me!" I sobbed.

"Leah, what is going on? Are you all right?"

"No! He's chasing me! Bella, Ross is a vampire. He wants to kill me!"

Silence came from the other end of the line.

"Bella?" I cried.

Her reassuring voice came back. "Listen Leah, can you get to the airport?"

I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. "I'm on my way right now."

"Good. Come to Forks. We can protect you. Come straight here. Don't stop for anything."

I agreed and hung up. Within a minute, I was at the airport. I leaped from my car and sprinted to the building. Thankfully, Ross couldn't try anything right in the middle of the busy airport.

I bought a ticket to Washington. My flight left in half an hour.

Soon, I was at the Cullens modern house, hidden deep in the woods of Forks.

Every little sound made me jump, sure that Ross was behind me, ready to drink my blood.

Surprisingly, I ran into Jacob Black just coming from their house.

"Jake!" I cried.

He looked up. "Leah? Is that you?"

I nodded wordlessly.

When he saw the look on my face, he hurried over and put an arm around my shoulders. "What's the matter?"

"Um… Nothing," I lied, trying not to drag him into all this.

"Yeah right," he replied. He walked me to the front door, his arm still supporting my trembling form.

The door flew open and Bella threw her arms around me. "Leah!"

I hugged her back and allowed myself to be dragged inside. Jacob followed.

"Don't worry, Leah. Everything will be fine. You'll be safe here," Bella crooned into my ear. Esme wrapped a large blanket around me and brought in a cup of tea.

"What is going on?" Jake asked again.

Bella glanced up at him seriously. "Leah's brother is a vampire. He's trying to kill her."

Jacob's face hardened and he crossed his arms. "He is, huh? That's not gonna happen while I'm around."

Bella stood and faced Jacob. "Could you help, Jake? That would be great."

Jake nodded and raced out the door.

Bella sat next to me again.

"What kind of help can Jake give?" I asked her. "And why did you tell him about the vampires so readily?"

She smiled mysteriously at me. "Oh, Jake knows all about vampires," she noted. "Jake is a werewolf, and the natural enemy of vampires like us."

I was speechless.

Jacob reappeared and I stared at him incredulously. He grinned lopsidedly. "I guess she's been told?"

Bella nodded.

I fell asleep on the couch soon, warm and relatively safe.

Bella entered the living room just as I was waking up. "Leah, we have to go hunting. You'll be perfectly fine. Jake is on guard duty. We'll be back as soon as we can."

I gave her a hug and watched her go.

I strolled out the front door into the evening air. Jake was sprawled on the front porch. I sat next to him.

He smiled tenderly and wrapped his arms around me. We sat in companionable silence for a long time with me pressed closely against his side.

"Leah…." Jake whispered.

I shifted so that I could see into his eyes.

"I love you," he breathed. He leaned down and lightly touched his lips to mine.

I laid my arms around his neck and kissed him back.

His hand twined into my hair and kept me from pulling away. Not that I would want to.

Eventually, we separated, breathing heavily.

"I love you too, Jacob Black," I whispered in return. I grinned and slipped inside to whip up something for dinner.

The house was dark now that the sun had set. Shadows filled the hallway, so I flipped on a light.

Then, I screamed. Ross stood right in front of me, leaning casually against the wall.

"Hello sister dear," he purred, then seized me around the neck.

I struggled and tried to pull free. His hands only tightened, cutting off my airway. Black filled the edges of my vision, and I knew I was going to black out.

I heard a loud roar, and I was suddenly released. I fell to the floor, gasping, trying to get my breath back.

When I did, I stood shakily on my feet. Jacob must have heard the sound of my scream. He had tackled Ross and now they were grappling with each other. Ross threw Jake off and came after me again, but Jacob tackled him from behind. They fell to the ground.

I heard one of them cry out, and suddenly, Jake was laying on the ground and Ross was up on his feet. He charged after me. I sprinted away from him desperately. I was not fast enough.

Ross caught me again. He grinned evilly, baring his long, sharp incisors. Then, he launched me through the huge window at the back of the Cullen house. The glass shattered as I collided with it. I plummeted to the hard ground and knew now more.

I slowly came around. I opened my eyes and saw Jake's worried face close to mine.

"Leah!" he cried.

I smiled painfully. "Hey, Jake." I tried to sit up, but he gently pushed me back to the ground. "No, lay back. It's ok. Ross is dead. You're safe."

"He's dead?" I gasped.

Jacob nodded solemnly. "The Cullens came back just after he threw you out the window. He was no match for all of us together. He won't be bothering you anymore." He hung his head. "I'm so sorry Leah. I didn't protect you. I let him hurt you."

I held his hand in both of mine. "It wasn't your fault, Jake. And he's gone now. I don't need to be protected from him from now on."

Jake looked into my eyes and smiled. "You can count on me being there from now on though."

I grinned back. "Forever and always?" I asked, teasingly.

"Forever and always," he promised solemnly.

Then, he swept me up in his arms and kissed me.


End file.
